The economy is at a standstill, and is likely to remain so for some time to come. Hedge funds are, for the most part, having a rough go. The only thing keeping us tied to one another has failed. There’s still no f*****g toilet paper.
Even Ken Griffin has made some accommodation (literally) to our nightmarish new world. But we can still look to Citadel for a reassuring glimpse of life continuing as it always has, with old doors closing and new ones opening, a cycle of hiring and firing that even a global pandemic cannot interrupt. (After all, even an exogenous force like a novel virus is ravaging the markets is no excuse for losing Ken Griffin money.)
Four equity portfolio managers at Ken Griffin’s Citadel hedge fund left the firm last week, after one of the most volatile months for stocks on record./The four managers are Chris Connor, who ran a technology portfolio; Tio Charbaghi and Steve Bergman, who both ran baskets of industrial stocks; and Chip Fortson, who ran a book of financial stocks….
Griffin, of course, needs a steady stream of new blood to can at some point in the future (or to make president of the firm if they survive his hunger games), and this has continued in the face of COVID-19, as well.
Richard Falk-Wallace, a natural resources portfolio manager who previously worked at Viking Global Investors, joined Citadel’s Surveyor unit last week. Jake Koury, a portfolio manager covering consumer stocks who most recently worked at Balyasny, will be joining the firm’s Global Equities group next month.
Ken even reignited a fun old rivalry to remind us of better times.
The firm’s Global Equities group… got a new head at the beginning of March, when Justin Lubell took on the role. He previously worked for Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management.
Four Citadel Portfolio Managers Leave After Market Dives [Bloomberg Quint]